Billerica Select Board Votes 3-2 to Seat Two Members on Town Manager Search Panel

BILLERICA -- August 5, 2024, Billerica Select Board votes 3-2 to place two of its own members on the town manager screening committee. The board appointed Selectwoman Dina Favreau and Selectman Mike Rosa to the 13-member Town Manager Screening Committee in back-to-back 3-2 votes Monday, with Chair John Burroughs and the two appointees in the majority and Selectwoman Conway and Selectman Riley dissenting both times. Riley had urged the board to instead seat residents, nominating retired Police Chief Paul Matthews and former Concord Assistant Town Manager Doug Ma, arguing that placing Select Board members on a body whose recommendations the full board ultimately votes on gives a small faction "double influence" over the hire. Rosa countered that "nobody knows the job or the interactions with the town manager better" than sitting board members, and Burroughs cited competitive urgency, saying "we need to get the right person and we need to do it fast." The motion to seat Matthews failed 2-3 on the same party-line split.